The road is one of the major thoroughfares of the Ortigas Center in Mandaluyong and Pasig, housing many shopping malls like the Starmall shopping center and the posh Shangri-La Plaza at the EDSA-Shaw intersection and The Marketplace, which is visible from the Kalentong-Shaw intersection and Sevilla Bridge.

Shaw Boulevard starts as a four-lane road at Sevilla Bridge, which crosses the San Juan River, before coming to an intersection past General Kalentong Street.

The flyover carries the road over Shaw Boulevard MRT station and descends near EDSA Shangri-La.

[6] The intersection of Shaw Boulevard, West Capitol Drive, and Camino Verde Road has dedicated bike boxes, which were introduced in September 2021.

[7] In 2014, under the Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas (Region III & Region IV-A; also known as the Metro Manila Dream Plan), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) study proposes a dual 2-lane elevated expressway from NLEX-SLEX Connector Road (later renamed as NLEX Connector during construction) near Santa Mesa over this highway (R-5) through Pasig to connect with C-5.